Impact wrenches... Which one?

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Quaser
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:09 am

I bought the Milwaukee one - works very well

What sort of things will you be undoing?? As I also bought a 3/8 12v ratchet and that really is a good bit of kit - although you have to loosen it a but first and check tightness after
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harry_p
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:41 am

can anyone recommend a decent air powered one?

I bought a £40 one from machine mart, and it's pretty poor. struggles with wheel nuts if theyve been done up tight. I wasnt expecting anything amazing for the money though.

thinking around the £100 point for something with a decent break away power.
cheers,

harry
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:44 am

harry_p wrote:can anyone recommend a decent air powered one?

I bought a £40 one from machine mart, and it's pretty poor. struggles with wheel nuts if theyve been done up tight. I wasnt expecting anything amazing for the money though.

thinking around the £100 point for something with a decent break away power.
First thing is to make sure that your using a decent air hose on your compressor (not those shitty coiled ones you get with cheap compressors) and the outlet pressure through the restricter is the same as the pressure in the tank.

I can't think of anything for £100. My blue point one was £150 and doesn't struggle with much.

A good compressor and hose will make all the difference though.
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harry_p
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:53 am

I've got a decent (ish) 3hp compressor, and using a 10mm inside bore hose, with proper pcl connectors on both ends. The budget can be flexible if it means a decent item which will last a few years.
cheers,

harry
Quaser
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:59 am

Ingersoll rand ones are good - 1000lb ft torque - and cheaper to import from America inc delivery - cant remember price though
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Demlotcrew
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 12:59 pm

Dont waste your time with Air, the modern 1/2" Snap On will undo everything on an E30 with ease.

Milwaukee guns are very poor in comparison and offer much less power in real life so I would stay away from those.

My choice would be

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SNAP-ON-CTU68 ... 20d1714805

620ftlb breakaway torque. :D

But its too heavy and powerful for most jobs, you will soon be eying up the 3/8" 14.4v
penton08
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:31 pm

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My choice of weapon, not much gets in its way with 700 lb ft of breakaway torque :D
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:33 pm

If Snap On didn't change the battery attachment I would have pre ordered one of these :D A very nice impact wrench.
capnmchl
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 2:00 pm

Demlotcrew wrote:Dont waste your time with Air, the modern 1/2" Snap On will undo everything on an E30 with ease.
I would agree with that for home use. My only concern is that the batteries will end up not being able to hold much charge and they aren't cheap from snap on.
Demlotcrew
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 2:06 pm

Demlotcrew
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 2:54 pm

Simon13
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:03 pm

so is the price of the snap on stuff. Its OTT imo unless your professional
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 6:57 pm

Demlotcrew wrote:Dont waste your time with Air, the modern 1/2" Snap On will undo everything on an E30 with ease.

Milwaukee guns are very poor in comparison and offer much less power in real life so I would stay away from those.

My choice would be

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SNAP-ON-CTU68 ... 20d1714805

620ftlb breakaway torque. :D

But its too heavy and powerful for most jobs, you will soon be eying up the 3/8" 14.4v

This is the one I was eyeing up! Powarrr :D

I need an impact wrench suitable for everything but my reasoning behind this is, better to have too much power rather than too little? Right!!? :D
Demlotcrew
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:53 pm

If this is your first impact, then absolutely you want a nice reserve of power to get the toughest of jobs done.

The areas of particular use, front crank nut/bolt, shock top mounts, bearing/half shaft nuts, differential pinion nut, gearbox output nut et'al.

There are some bargains to be had if you can wait for the right auction to appear.
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Chris_B86
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Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:05 pm

Demlotcrew wrote:Dont waste your time with Air, the modern 1/2" Snap On will undo everything on an E30 with ease.

Milwaukee guns are very poor in comparison and offer much less power in real life so I would stay away from those.

My choice would be

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SNAP-ON-CTU68 ... 20d1714805

620ftlb breakaway torque. :D

But its too heavy and powerful for most jobs, you will soon be eying up the 3/8" 14.4v
CTU6850 is the one I've been using, been absolutely invaluable working on the e30 although agreed it is a bit bulky. Absolutely nothing it wouldn't undo, providing you could fit it in to get good purchase. I was a bit naughty and used a uj and extension in places, needless to say my uj is a bit knackered now
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Sat Apr 13, 2013 8:53 am

bab-91 wrote:Revisiting this after destroying my right hand :(

Friend recommended a 3/8 dewalt, I was pawing over a 1/2 snap on because it had more powarrrr!


Being a buzzkillington, he recons 3/8 is more than enough powarrrr and its obviously cheaper! Would this be up to scratch?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DEWALT-XR-LI- ... 4544535%26
Good tool and good price. I use one of these every day
bruv chariots rule
bab-91
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Sat Jun 15, 2013 12:41 pm

got my paws on a impact gun a few days ago. :D

Favourite toy this year!


Thanks for the help chaps
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